There has been an increase in terrorism in the Jordan River Valley
over the past six months, according to senior IDF officers who spoke
to the military magazine B´Machaneh. Most of the new terror incidents
appear to be relatively uncoordinated, they said.

Many of the new attacks involved placing large stones along Highway
90. The makeshift stone barriers could cause a car to flip over,
injuring its passengers, or could force the vehicle to a halt,
allowing terrorists hiding nearby to attack. The strategy has also
been used in areas of Judea and Samaria to the west.

“If a car hits a line of stones at night going full speed – there is
definitely going to be an accident,” explained Lieutenant-Colonel
Shalom Eisner. “This is for all intents and purposes a terrorist
attack.”

The frequency at which terrorists have put up stone roadblocks
increased by a factor of four in 2010 compared to 2009, officers
said. Five such snares for drivers were set up last week, and caused
damage to vehicles.

There are other forms of terrorist attack as well. Terrorists have
thrown firebombs and large stones at soldiers in the region with
increasing frequency, Eisner said.

In order to fight the phenomenon, soldiers are increasing their
activities in the region, and have met with village leaders to warn
them of the potential consequences of an increase in terror in the
region. “Most chances are that the people putting up the roadblocks
are not Palestinians living in the Jordan River Valley, but rather,
those who come from elsewhere but work and sleep in the area,” said
Eisner.

The Jordan River Valley is a strategically valuable area seen by
successive military leaders as crucial in protecting Israel against
possible attacks from the east. The region fell to Jordan in 1948 and
was recaptured by Israel in the Six Day War. For many years the
valley was a hotbed of terrorism, and became known as Eretz
Hamirdafim (lit. “The Land of Pursuit”) for the frequent IDF chases
after infiltrating Jordanian terrorists.